The Crimson Demon Mages are some of the most powerful
magic users in the world, their power feared even by the Devil King
himself. But when their village comes
under attack by demons in search of a weapon that could leave them helpless,
even the best need to call for backup…and theyre about to get it in the form of
Kazuma Sato and his merry band of screw ups.
For Megumin, it’s a long delayed homecoming. For Kazuma and the others, it’s a chance to
earn some major cash. But is this a
fight even they can win on pure luck when even the Crimson Demons are having
trouble?
After two gutbustingly funny but criminally short seasons
of KonoSuba, I found myself a bit depressed that the main story was on pause
until Season Three arrived.
However,
that wasn’t totally true.
Here we have
the Legend of Crimson movie which serves as a fun little adventure to pass the
time in between TV Seasons and if you love everything about KonoSuba thus far,
there’s no reason you wont enjoy The Movie.
Granted it doesn’t feel like a movie and more like an extended 2-3 part
episode and doesn’t take full advantage of “The Movie” aspect until the final
battle.
But this is also KonoSuba and
its formula has been damn near perfected across two TV Seasons.
In short, no need to rock the boat too much
and ruin a good thing when its already working as is.
Legend of Crimson picks up not long after the end of
Season Two and surprisingly advances a few character arcs, making it essential
viewing for all KonoSuba fans.
As the
title implies, the main focus is on everybody’s favorite Explosion Maniac,
Megumin.
Her homecoming is every bit as
awkward as KonoSuba could make it and it starts well before she even gets there
when her self proclaimed rival, Yun Yun, arrives to ask Kazuma a huge
favor.
All of the Crimson Demons are a
hoot from the show off Mages to Megumin’s adorable sister and her super devious
Mom who goes to great lengths to push Kazuma and Megumin into a full blown
relationship.
Surprisingly, Legend of
the Crimson does put a lot of nice spotlight on Kazuma and Megumin’s will
they/wont they friendship.
They bicker
like an old married couple but despite their trademark snark, there’s genuine
care between the two of them, something different from the kind of bond Kazuma
has with Aqua or Darkness.
Something
tells me Season Three may finally see some pay off to this but for the movie,
there’s enough done to make fans of this ship want to see it move forward.
I’ve gotta say, Sylvia might be my favorite of all the
Villains in KonoSuba so far.
Ok a huge
part (no pun intended) has to go to her voluptuous character design.
Her character design and overall sexiness
play a major factor in her interactions with Kazama, leading to some of the
movies biggest laughs.
She kind of
becomes a bit of a rival for Megumin when it comes to winning the affections of
the lecherous hero who doesn’t mind being held in Sylvia’s immense bosom and
not wanting to be rescued.
While she
does feel a little standard for foes we’ve seen so far, when we get to the
finale and Sylvia gains a rather impressive design upgrade, its where Legend of
Crimson lives up to it’s “The Movie” tagline.
Sylvia becomes a larger than life foe that you actually come to like
quite a bit despite her penchant for, you know, being in league with the Devil
King (though I guess you could say the same about the other baddies Kazuma has
squared off against but that’s not a bad thing).
If Legend of the Crimson has any flaws its that it
doesn’t do anything new or inventive for the series that hasn’t been done
already in the show.
The humor still
comes at a very fast and furiously and barely ever lets up, lest we forget
KonoSuba is supposed to be a straight up comedy.
There are a few softer, reflective cues when
we get into Megumin’s origins but it isnt long before another joke breaks the
ice.
Again though, this is
KonoSuba.
The formula has already been
long established.
While character
development and advancement is there, these are still a group of hapless losers
somehow lucking their way into both danger and victory, sometimes both at the
same time.
Legend of the Crimson is no
different but while not being widly different from the TV Series seems like a
detriment, for me it really isnt.
The
only other nitpick I could cite is that while yes this is Megumin’s storyline,
I think Aqua and Darkness didn’t get nearly enough to do in the overall story
besides be there.
And hey, don’t split
up a party that still has some of the best character banter in any Anime.
Just sayin, those two could’ve done a little
bit more than what they got in this adventure
KonoSuba: The Movie is exactly what you should come to
expect from the Comedy Issekai masterpiece: more jokes, more uncomfortable
situations, Villains just as insane and crazy as the heroes, and a perfect mix
of comedy and action that works thanks to the franchises refusal to take things
seriously.
If Megumin is your favorite,
the spotlight shining on her home and backstory and edging her and Kazuma
closer together is a welcome treat.
Sure
this is one of those instances where you could say “There’s nothing different
here from what’s in the TV series.”
To
that I say, true.
But if it aint broke,
don’t fix it and don’t futz with it.
KonoSuba’s got a great thing going and Legend of Crimson only reminds
viewers why it’s one of the best Anime of the last decade.
9/10
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